Apple Context Machine Podcast

The Apple Context Machine is Mac, iPhone, and iPod news and analysis that puts the facts in perspective, brought to you with a sense of humor. Hosts Jeff Gamet and Bryan Chaffin put the Apple world into context.

Podcast Archives

Apple's Sir Jony Ive is the one guy in charge of all of the company's software design now that Greg Christie is out, there's finally a rumor about the iWatch that both Jeff and Bryan think is right, and the set top box war is heating up with Apple, Amazon, Roku, and now Google getting in on the game. All that, and Bryan has a special offer for bitcoin fans.

Jeff and Bryan survived last week's Macworld/iWorld conference and are here to tell you about what they saw, the cool products they found, and all the great stuff you missed. They also take a look at the just started second patent infringement trial between Apple and Samsung, and offer up their take on Amazon's new Fire TV set top streaming content device.

Apple added an 8GB version of the iPhone 5C to its product lineup, but not in many markets. The company also replaced the iPad 2 with the formerly discontinued fourth generation iPad, Microsoft is finally bringing its Office suite to the iPad, and it turns out DigiTimes reports aren't always wrong. All that, and Jeff and Bryan fill you in on their upcoming Macworld/iWorld appearances.

It's 2014 and Jeff and Bryan think this is the year that will define Tim Cook's leadership at Apple. They also take a look at iOS 7.12, share some tips, talk about some cool Kickstarter and Indiegogo projects, and discover exactly why you should lock cats outside of the recording studio.

Apple's shareholders got to see the angry side of CEO Tim Cook at the company's annual meeting last week, the company is hiring engineers outside the United States, which should have competitors worried, and CFO Peter Oppenheimer is retiring. Apple also has to deal with a bug legal fumble because it accidentally released the same confidential documents Samsung got in trouble over sharing. Jeff and Bryan take a look at all three topics, and try to deal with the realization that they fell out of the linear time stream.

Samsung may have been present at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, but Apple managed to win an award without even bothering to show up. Jeff and Bryan take a look at that news, along with Samsung's new smartphone and smart watch announcements, tributes to Steve Jobs, Disney's new movie team up with the iTunes Store, and more.

Advertisers aren't happy with Apple's tight secrecy over user data and want to see a policy change. Listeners gave Jeff and Bryan some topic ideas, too, that sent them off on discussions about Apple TV, Netflix, product code names, and Tim Cook's recent visits to Turkey and the UAE.

Reports claim Apple is getting ready to introduce a new Apple TV that includes some kind of content deal with Time Warner, there's lots of speculation about what's in store for all of the synthetic sapphire Apple is making, Judge Cote's antitrust monitor is back on the job, and Apple is getting serious about its training programs. All that, and more bad segues.

Microsoft has handed its corporate reigns to a new CEO, Satya Nadella, and Jeff and Bryan take a look at his first interview and Microsoft's future. They also mull over Apple's growing stable of health and fitness experts, including the company's new sleep expert, and discuss what it might mean. For added grins, they poke a stick at Samsung, Verizon's Net Neutrality shenanigans, and Facebook's curious Paper app.

Apple reported record revenue and strong iPhone sales for its first fiscal quarter in 2014, but not all investors were happy and a couple big names even called the company to task in their own special ways. Google surprised the tech world by announcing it's selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo, the Mac turned 30, and Bryan has a new toy.